Time Slows For No One Book 5
by Luna Silvereyes
Summary: Miharu knows her parents are fighting because of her, so she runs away to the mysterious Time Travelers. As Sesshomaru and Saeka try to track her down, their fights get more violent, until something happens that could tear them apart. Rated T for violence
1. Trouble in The Feudal Era

Time Slows For No One 

By Luna Silvereyes

A/N: I do not own InuYasha. I only own Saeka, Miharu and anyone else you do not recognize.

Trouble In The Feudal Era

It was very dark in Kaede's village. Miharu was sitting on the rooftop, hiding from her father. He was wandering around below, searching for her.

" Miharu, come out now. Don't make me look for you." He threatened. Miharu wasn't playing around. She was mad at him. She had wanted to learn to use a bow and arrow, but he had said that it was only for priestesses to learn. When Kaede somehow found insult in this, they got into a big argument and Miharu and tried to step in. But Sesshomaru, in a fit of rage, had accidentally slashed at her with his claws, creating a severe gash within her hair, dying the silvery color a temporary red. Then, Miharu, now terrified had run out of the house, Sesshomaru chasing after her. She now sat on the roof of Kaede's hut, watching him walk around in search of her. Whenever he looked up, she ducked out of sight. The only reason he didn't pick up her scent was because she'd stolen that sickening remedy of Kaede's that disguised her scent to that of a badger. She could hide in plain sight, provided she made no sound at all.

" Miharu!" he yelled.

" Sesshomaru, give it up." Kaede said from the doorway. He whirled to face her. " I'm not just leaving her out here." He said. Kaede sighed.

" Sesshomaru, this too proves that she is indeed yours. She's stubborn and a sore loser. She won't come until she's ready to, not before. Even if ye found her, she'd still run. She's fast and would probably make it to the continent before ye could catch up with her. Just give up for awhile. She'll come."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and sighed. " Why did she run?" he muttered. Kaede stepped out of the hut so that she was standing a few feet away from him. He was gazing up at the sky, lost in his own thoughts.

" She ran because ye scared her. She didn't expect to experience those claws of yours firsthand while trying to break up our argument. But I'm sure she realizes that being a nearly complete demon, her body is designed to heal wounds like that far faster than any human. But nonetheless, ye still terrified her. She won't come until she's ready to face ye again."

" I wouldn't hurt her." He said quietly.

" I know ye wouldn't. Ye aren't like that anymore. I remember when all ye used to think about was acquiring more power in order to kill thy brother. But now that Miharu and Saeka have entered thy life, ye gain power only to protect them. It's completely understandable."

" I don't get what you're saying." He said. Kaede sighed. " I'm saying that ye have changed. Ye care for something now. Ye want to protect it, before it's lost to ye. That something is thy family. I suggest ye learn to accept the hardships that come with it."

She turned and went back inside. Sesshomaru looked up at the sky again.

_Maybe she's right. Maybe there's more to Miharu than meets the eye, aside from being some sort of weapon, she's different than I expected. _

He sighed again and turned to go back inside. He paused.

" Miharu, I know you're around here somewhere. I also know you can hear me. I am sorry for what I did to you. But you shouldn't stay out here."

He went back in, and Miharu was left alone on the roof.

" Hey Sesshomaru." InuYasha grumbled. Sesshomaru ignored him and sat down against the wall several feet away. He was staring off into space. Kagome noticed this. She went over. " Penny for your thoughts?" she ventured. He gave her a funny look. " What's a penny?"

" It's a type of coin in my era. The phrase means, 'want to talk about it'?"

" Not particularly."

" It's about Miharu, isn't it?" InuYasha said. He knew where she was. Miharu had told him where she was going after Sesshomaru's episode. But she'd made him swear not to tell.

" I can't seem to locate her at present."

A sudden thump resounding from the roof brought all their attentions up.

" She's on the roof." Sesshomaru mumbled. He made to stand up. Kagome ran in front of the door. " You aren't going back out. Kaede went out there to talk to you about this. Miharu is a little upset, Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru regarded her coldly, but seemed to change his mind and sat back down, staring at his left hand. Ever since he'd somehow reattached his original left arm, he continued to wonder whether it would suddenly drop off at some point, though it hadn't yet.

" Kagome," Kaede said. " Are Sango and Miroku still asleep?"

" Yes. I went in to check on them."

" That's funny, because there's someone outside the window here." Kaede said. InuYasha sighed irritably and got to his feet. " I'll go—"

" YAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

" What on earth was that?" Kaede shouted. Someone had screamed outside the window. Sesshomaru was on his feet in an instant. Kagome turned as he hurried for the door.

" That was Miharu!" he shouted. In a second, he was gone. Kagome and InuYasha exchanged glances and ran after him.

They found the demon behind the hut, watching something going on within the forest. A hideous snarl sounded and an enormous silver dog-like creature burst from the bushes. It stopped when it spied Sesshomaru.

" Miharu!" Kagome exclaimed. Miharu suddenly dug her claws into the ground as someone shouted, " _Wind Tunnel!_"

Sesshomaru grimaced and charged forward, his Tokijjin sword at the ready.

" Sesshomaru, NO! That's Miroku!" Kagome screamed.

By now, Miharu had transformed back and was attempting to use her light whip to stop the wind from sucking her in.

" Miroku!" InuYasha yelled. " If you don't stop that, you're going to have your head ripped off!"

Abruptly, the wind halted and the young monk stepped out from the trees, just as Sesshomaru reached where he stood. He barely managed to dive out of the way as Tokijjin struck the tree behind him, nearly severing it from its trunk. He ran to Kagome and bared his right hand.

" Stay back, Sesshomaru! I was only doing an exorcism." He said, gesturing to Miharu. Sesshomaru pulled his sword back and took a ferocious swing at him, clipping off some hair, but missing him in general. Kagome stepped between the two. " Sesshomaru stop it! We've got it under control!" she shouted. He continued to glare at her. Miroku got up and ran to Miharu, his right hand held out threateningly. " All right, demon, this is it for you." He said.

" Miroku," InuYasha said. " Stop for just a moment."

Miroku did and turned as InuYasha came forward and pointed down at Miharu. He cleared his throat. " I'd like to introduce you to my niece, Miharu." He said. Miroku's jaw fell. " Your _niece_? But that means—" he turned to Sesshomaru who had his sword up and was growling at him menacingly. Miroku froze and hurried around behind InuYasha. " She's his daughter?" he squeaked. " Oops." He stood up. " My apologies, Sesshomaru, I had no idea that she belonged to you. I am very sorry."

" For nearly killing her?" Sesshomaru finished for him. Miroku laughed, embarrassed. " Yeah, that. Well I'd better go!" he zoomed off toward Kaede's hut. Sesshomaru watched his progress and turned to Miharu. " I suppose you know what I mean when I said you shouldn't be out here." He said, sheathing his sword.

" Can you really blame me?"

" No, actually, I cannot. But your mother had better never hear of this. Your friend Miroku won't live to see another morning if Saeka finds out." He said, turning to go back inside. Miharu sighed and shook her head.

" Well, at least he isn't as bad as mom says he used to be. As I understand it, in the 'olden days', he'd have obliterated that guy." She said to her uncle. InuYasha shrugged. " I've known him for almost seventy years and he still bugs me. You learn to live with it. At least he isn't after the jewel like other demons."

InuYasha left, leaving Kagome with Miharu.

" Come on," Kagome said. " You've had a weird night."

" I'm a weird demon and I have weird parents." Miharu said. Kagome smiled. " That, I'll vouch for. Your father can be pretty unpredictable at times. He's almost killed me several times since I met him."

" What?" Miharu gasped, shocked.

" He's out of that now. But it was sure freaky enough back then."

They went back inside where Kaede was holding off an argument between the two brothers.

" InuYasha, Sesshomaru, knock it off!"

" He started it!" InuYasha yelled, pointing at Sesshomaru. " He's the one who keeps attacking everyone!"

Sesshomaru took a slash at him with his poison claws and InuYasha swerved out of the way and pulled out his sword, fully transformed. Kaede waved her hands wildly. " NO! Not Tetsuaiga! Put that away now!"

" Why don't you listen for once?" Sesshomaru mumbled. InuYasha brandished the sword at him. " Anyone but you!"

Suddenly, Tetsuaiga was wrenched from his grasp and fell to the floor, regressed into its neutral form. The snaking light whip fell lower to the floor as Miharu stepped in. " Seriously, why can't you _both_ listen for once?" she snapped. She pulled the light whip in and crossed her arms. " Honestly, you both claim to be powerful demons, but the both of you act like immature children."

" You don't speak to me like that." Sesshomaru said, bordering on anger. Kaede stepped up. " Actually, she's right, Sesshomaru. The few times ye and your brother have gotten along were so far between, I can't remember a single one, though I know they happened."

Off to the left, a door opened and shut and a sleepy voice called out, "What is going on out here, are we under attack again?"

" Saeka." Sesshomaru said. InuYasha quickly sheathed his Tetsuaiga and folded his arms behind his back like nothing had happened. The healer came into the room and yawned. " Sesshomaru, what's going on?"

" Nothing, Saeka. Go back to sleep." He said. " We're sorry we woke you."

Instead of going back however, she came and sat down beside the hearth.

" Are you two at it again? Honestly, I feel more like your referee than your companion." She said. Kagome snickered and he glared at her. Saeka yawned again and looked up at Sesshomaru. " Where is Miharu? She's supposed to be sleeping. It's eleven at night."

" Sorry, Mom." Miharu said. " I was sort of…well."

" She was mad at Sesshomaru." InuYasha said. Sesshomaru whirled on him and snarled, " Shut up!"

" Make me why don'tcha?"

" Gladly." He said, flexing the claws on his right hand. Saeka glowered at them both, opened her mouth slightly and exhaled.

Sesshomaru and InuYasha both cringed and InuYasha sank to the floor, while Sesshomaru remained frozen.

" What's happening?" Kagome asked. She looked at Miharu who had her ears covered and was crossing her eyes. " It's a special ability my mom has. She uses it whenever dad gets on her nerves. It's a high frequency wail that only animals and dog and cat demons can hear and when she does it to this pitch, it's deafening!"

" Saeka!" Sesshomaru yelled. " Stop it already!"

She closed her mouth. " Very well. But let me warn you, I will not hesitate to do it again if you irritate me once more." She said. InuYasha, dazed swooned and fell to the floor. Sesshomaru shook his head lightly and turned to leave. Saeka followed him with her eyes. " Where are you going?"

" Out for awhile. There's something I have to do." He said. Then he was gone. Saeka murmured something under her breath and got to her feet. " I'm going flying for awhile." She said. As she left the hut, Kagome saw that her dark brown hair was beginning to tinge to a teal color.

" Saeka," Kaede called. " Would ye mind catching a fish while ye are out?"

" Not at all, Lady Kaede." Saeka replied. She left too.

Miharu sighed. " It isn't easy living in this family." She said. Kagome looked at her. " What isn't easy about it?"

" Lately, though I've only known them a few weeks, mom and dad seem to be fighting a lot more. It really seems to be about me."

" Don't blame yourself. Parents fight all the time. It never really means anything most of the time." Kagome said. Miharu shook her head. " I can't help but feel that maybe they were better off without me. I mean, when dad attacked me today, I truly felt that that's what he wanted to do. That he did that on purpose. Of course, it healed right away, but the memory of that, seeing his face as his claws tore through my hair when I intervened, all I could see was…fury, hatred. Toward me, it seemed." She said, looking at the floor. Kaede listened in and turned to them. " I have noticed that they have been arguing quite a bit. But it's always where they both back down. They are equals, and so cannot effectively fight one another. As much as Sesshomaru may dislike to admit it, a half-demon is indeed his equal."

Miharu looked up. But Kagome could see the worry in her eyes.

" I want to believe it so much, but I just can't Lady Kaede." She said.

_It's because of me they're fighting. Kagome said that they were so close. Now that I'm in the picture, they fight constantly. Well, argue more than fight, but still._

A/N: The first chapter of the fifth book! Beware, things get very, very morbid in these next two books and anyone who has a problem with sci-fi had better stop reading and forget you ever heard of this book. This story is almost pure sci-fi. If you wish to keep going and risk it, it's your own choice. R&R!!


	2. The Prisoners of Malsshinyor

The Prisoners of Malsshinyor

Two armed guards and a young boy paraded solemnly into the throne room of the high Lord's palace. The young boy, clearly terrified, darts his eyes this way and that for any means of hiding himself. While the guards are dressed in silver colored outfits resembling armor from the Feudal Era, it is obvious that they are not of the type. They reach the base of the platform of the throne and shove the boy down onto the floor.

" King Drasmond. We have found a witness to the weapon's whereabouts." One of them barked. The king, a tall black haired man in his late forties at least, regarded the boy with an icy disposition. " What's your name?" he hissed. The boy kept his head down to hide the fear. " My name is Tama, sir." He said shakily.

" What era are you from?" The king asked. Tama lifted his head in confusion. " Era? I don't know."

" Describe it." He rephrased patiently.

" Well, I live in Japan and there's a lot of fighting going on. We lived near a clan of demons that destroyed our tribe and –"

" That's fine. The Feudal Era. I see. Now, while you lived there, did you happen to see a young girl about three years of age, with silvery hair and golden eyes?" he asked. The boy inhaled. " Y-yes. She lives in my village with her parents, two demons who argue a lot. I think her name is Miharu."

" Very good. I am through with you. Guards, take him below. He can meet the other prisoners before he becomes one of the _kikuurama._"

The guards grabbed his arms and dragged him bodily out of the room. Tama protested at first, but after a hard clout on the head, he kept quiet as they led him out of the throne room and down a dark passageway through a stone entrance in the wall. He tried to remember all the twists and turns that they took, but he eventually lost track.

They came to a large iron door and the guard to his left raised his hand to a certain stone on the wall.

_Correct Identification. Please enter._ A disembodied voice said. Tama gulped as he was led inside. The iron door slammed shut behind them and they were bathed in darkness. All at once, a light above them snapped on followed by another, then another in rapid succession down a long and dingy hallway. This hallway, they led him down quickly. They paused at a door which one of the guards opened at a touch of the hand. It slid open on a hatch and they shoved him in. He sat up and turned to look back at them.

" You will become a _Kikuurama _in two sun's time." They declared. The door slid shut and locked in place. Tama kneeled on the floor, staring at the door.

" What's a…whatever that is?" he murmured.

" It is what they call a weapon." A small voice said behind him. He whirled around. " W-Who's there?" he called. He could see a pair of dark eyes staring back at him. The figure moved into the dim light from the door and sat down in front of him. It was a young girl, about ten or eleven years old. Her black hair was dusty and matted with knots and broken in areas. Her dark eyes were filled with a bleak sadness and dull, like a gem of Tiger's Eye that hadn't been polished in ages. Tama blinked. " Who are you?"

" I can no longer remember my name. They took it from me and call me, Khiinli. I have tried everything to remember my name."

" I'm Tama." He said. He couldn't help but stare. She was so pitiful, sitting there in a ragged checkered cloth that desperately needed repair. She was so young, yet she seemed to have experienced more than her share of misery and pain by just sitting in the same cell as he. She gazed at him blankly. " You will be made to forget your name, as I have. You will be turned into a _Kikuurama_, like me. Unless you want to forget, don't make my mistake. Write your name somewhere and read it every day, or you will be eliminated." She spoke with the voice of a zephyr, just barely audible. He nodded and looked around for something with which to write. He spied a stone sitting on the floor and using it as a chisel, got to work scratching his name into the stone in the wall. T-A-M-A, he wrote. He felt that he was fortunate to have such a short name. He sat back and admired his work. He turned to Khiinli. " So, Khiinli, how long have you been here?"

" It does not matter, only that I will never leave." She said. " No one cares about me. Not anymore." She gazed up at the door sadly. " They used to, but they left me to be this."

Tama's eyes widened. " Khiinli, I'm sure that someone cares about you. Everyone has at least one person who does." He said cheerfully. Khiinli turned her head slowly to face him. " I do not. I care nothing for those who do not care for me. I wish them all death." She said icily. Tama gasped. " Surely you don't mean that. I mean, my mommy and daddy care for me, and yours do too."

" Mah-me? Dah-dee? These terms are unfamiliar to me." She said.

" What? You don't remember your parents?"

" Pah-rents? What is that?" she asked, showing the first sign of actual emotion he'd seen yet.

" They're the people who know you first." He said. " They play games with you and talk to you and teach you all about growing up. My dad taught me to ride a horse and catch fish! Maybe, when we get out of here, I'll introduce you to them and—"

" Rebel!" she exclaimed suddenly. He stopped. She stood up, her face glazed over with fear and hatred. " You are a rebel. You wish to overthrow King Drasmond. I must stop you."

She suddenly dashed forward and took a swipe at him with her fist. He jumped out of the way and gasped as she stopped and turned to him. Her eyes were a luminous green.

" Ahh! Khiinli, what's wrong with you?" he gasped. She smiled evilly.

" I am a _Kikuurama_. A weapon for King Drasmond." She said. She came at him again and this time, he attempted to defend himself. His hand shot out and caught her around the waist. Though she was about his age, she was much smaller than he and he held her easily. She struggled furiously. It seemed to him all of a sudden that she feared him.

" Ugh, let me go!" she cried. Suddenly, her eyes sprang open and she screamed, " _Lord Sesshomaru!_"

A/N: This may be the last chapter for a few days. I've been getting weird migraines and I think it's because of the sudden change in temp outside. It went from 0 below to like the mid 40's. Also, a sudden writer's cramp is making it so even publishing my stories isn't putting me in the right mood. Blech. I am so glad I have loyal reviewers though. They're what perk me up every day. My penpal Kinkatia usually always has something to say that always cheers me up. So thanks to Silentmoondemon, Shadowdragon2005 and Kinkatia for staying with me!


	3. A Terrible Discovery

A terrible Discovery

Kaede awoke first to find Saeka the dragon fast asleep on the wood floor of her hut. Kaede smiled and shook her head at the silvery animal.

" She must have worn herself out." She mused. " She was too tired to transform back. I wonder what she was doing anyway."

She moved to the hearth to make a pot of tea. Kagome, InuYasha, Shippo, Miroku and Sango were all still asleep. She didn't know where they were at present. She wasn't sure where Sesshomaru was either. She hadn't heard him come in the night before, and she surely would have, for she, like him was a very light sleeper.

She added some herbs to the tea and sighed. A full five minutes would have to go by before it would taste good. She closed her eyes for a moment.

The door opened and shut again. Soft footsteps echoed nearby and she tried to tell whose they were. They could only be either Sesshomaru's or Miharu's. She opened her eyes to see Sesshomaru sitting across from her. " Hello." She said. " I see that ye are finally back. Where exactly did you go?"

" Nowhere." He replied. Kaede rolled her eye. Saeka always found that endlessly amusing, but she found it irritating. She decided to skip that question.

" Do ye know where everyone might be?"

" It is mid-day. They are probably out." He said.

" Mid-day! I overslept!" Kaede exclaimed. She sighed. " Oh well, it was bound to happen sooner or later." She said. She took the lid off the kettle and stirred the tea around. " Would ye care for some?" she asked. He shook his head, no. She poured a little out, deciding to drink it as it was, even though it barely had any flavor at all. In fact, she was just drinking hot water. But it felt good anyway. She lowered the cup. " Saeka came in last night exactly as she is now." She said, gesturing the dragon lying on the floor. Sesshomaru looked down at his companion.

" She must have worn herself out." Kaede said. " I suspect she needed the rest anyway, what with having to live with ye and all, she probably never gets any." She said, drinking some more of the water. Sesshomaru made a face. " What is that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

" If you're suggesting I think that Saeka doesn't love you anymore, you're wrong. But with the way you've been acting lately, she's stressed out and needs rest. You'll kill her if ye keep this up."

At this moment, Saeka moaned in her sleep and began to stir. She grumbled low in her throat and sat up. She slowly transformed back into her normal self and sighed. " Good afternoon, Lady Kaede. I apologize for coming in like that. I was just so exhausted." She said, getting up ad taking a seat beside her companion. She leaned against his shoulder wearily. " Have you seen Miharu?" she asked. Kaede shook her head. " No, I thought I heard her going to visit some of the villagers, but I haven't seen her."

" I had a terrible dream about her. She was in her true form and she was running from something. Something horrible and large that was chasing her and gaining speed and closing the distance rapidly until it caught up with her, and I awoke." She said. " It was so real." She whispered.

" It was but a dream." Sesshomaru said. " Miharu is fine, I'm sure. If she weren't I'd know."

Saeka sighed. " So, how is Sango doing?"

" She's fine. She and Miroku are around here somewhere. Problem is, I just don't know where. I haven't seen any of them all day."

" I should probably go and look for them." Saeka said feebly. She stood up and moved toward the door. Sesshomaru got up to follow. " I'm coming with you, Saeka. You don't seem well." He said.

" I'm fine. Really." She said.

A considerably gentler argument started about whether she was okay or not and Kaede smiled and shook her head. " They have the closest, but strangest relationship I've ever seen." She mumbled.

For the next two hours, Sesshomaru and Saeka asked around for their daughter, but none of the villagers had seen Miharu. Many of them had fled at the sight of Sesshomaru, but Saeka being with him helped. It was like they believed that she controlled him, which was far from the facts.

" People, please, have you seen my daughter?" she implored of them. It was only when she asked did they answer. If Sesshomaru so much as even breathed in their direction, they ran off screaming.

" They don't seem too fond of me." He remarked after he'd scared away a man and his friends working in the fields.

" That's because you destroyed their village looking for Miharu." Saeka said.

" I knew I got a little carried away." He said. Saeka laughed. " A little? You wrecked three huts, annihilated the well and nearly killed someone. I won't even go into what you did when I was incapacitated." She said.

" Much obliged." He muttered sarcastically.

Finally, they had gone clear out of Kaede's region and found no trace of Miharu anywhere. Sesshomaru finally stirred up the cloud he used for traveling and flew them both back toward the village, just as the sun was going down. As she watched the mountains go by, Saeka thought about all that had happened. She recalled how she'd been called by Rin to heal Sesshomaru of the illness Kazuna had given him. Little had she even dreamed that it would come to this, where she and Sesshomaru, the demon she'd feared would be searching for something they shared. But these thoughts also stirred up the memory of Kazuna. When Miharu had gone through that transformation against the Professor a few weeks prior, her first thought had been of Kazuna, her childhood friend, conceived of her loneliness in the valley the Great Dog Demon had left her in after rescuing her from her father. But Kazuna had turned on her, and had been destroyed while trying to destroy her creator. Her bones now floated endlessly in the Void of Kassenah, the flawed Air-Cutter Sword that Saeka had forged from the bones of her mother, Lady Saaya. Sesshomaru had seen her use this power, and almost a year later, had finally advised her to seal the sword away for good, in its sheath with the wax of the Steel Bees. Unless it was forcibly removed by his hands, no one but Sesshomaru would be able to free the sword, Kassenah. And, to be quite truthful, she was glad that he had done so. Though the sword reminded her of her mother, she knew that to have it in use was dangerous. Tetsuaiga, like Kassenah had been designed to protect her, but while Tetsuaiga had been forged so that only a half-demon such as InuYasha could use it, Kassenah could be used by anyone. Even a human could open up the Black Void through her sword, which was why it was too deadly to keep around.

Saeka sighed and looked at her companion. His gaze was focused on the horizon ahead where Kaede's village could easily be seen. She wondered what he was thinking. Usually, she could tell right off the bat from his eyes, but they were strangely emotionless today. But, that's how they were most of the time.

Back at the village, Kaede was waiting for them outside her hut with the gravest expression they'd ever seen on her face. The cloud dissipated and Sesshomaru and Saeka hurried over. " What is it? Did you find something?" Saeka asked. Kaede bowed her head and handed them a scroll. Sesshomaru took it and unrolled it. His eyes widened.

" Dear?" Saeka asked. " What does it say? Sesshomaru?"

He handed her the scroll and she read it.

Dear Mother and Father,

I am sorry to inform to you that I can no longer stay with you. I cannot risk your lives being put in danger by the Time Travelers, so I have decided to go and find them and agree to be their weapon if they would spare you and the entire Feudal Era. I don't know what they would have me do in order to be that so-called weapon of ultimate destruction, but whatever it is, I am prepared to accept it. I will always love you. Mother, whose healing abilities and perpetual kindness inspire many, I'm sure to be better than the best they can be and father, whose strength of will and heart have led you to me in your never-ending search because of the promise you made to the one you loved more than almost anything in the world. I will never forget you, and should the Time Travelers decide to attack, I will disregard their wishes and spare you on my own. But should we never meet again, I will always remember you and we will meet again in the afterlife.

Your daughter,

-Miharu

Saeka covered her mouth and sank to the ground, sobbing. " No." she mumbled. " No. No."

Sesshomaru knelt down beside her. " Saeka, I…." But he couldn't think of anything to say, so he just hugged her instead, trying to convince himself that all was not as bad as it seemed. She could still be found, and he would find her. He would. He had to.

A/N: Sorry about the late updates. I know I update pretty quickly, but for me, this is ages between updates. Okay, so Miharu runs away and now the adventure starts. Basically, she's sealed her own destiny. You'll see what I mean around the end of the legacy of Miharu. Don't flame too hard if you choose to flame. I haven't gotten any yet, and that doesn't mean I won't, but I can take 'em!


	4. Miharu Alone

Miharu Alone

Miharu trekked across the mountainous landscape, with only her pack and whatever she was wearing to remind her of the life she had left behind. She knew what this was probably doing to her parents, but she didn't care. She'd inhaled enough badger scent to keep her virtually a badger until a month had passed. She didn't want her parents involved in whatever was going to happen and she refused to let them try to stop her. Instead, she kept going higher and higher into the mountains, trying to put as much distance between herself and her family as possible.

It was beginning to snow. She'd have to transform soon. But the problem was, her true form was eleven feet tall and still growing. She knew she'd gotten the size issue in that department from her father. She didn't know what his true form looked like. Only that he never used it. Finally, she succumbed to the snow that was rapidly piling up and altered her form into that of her true self, Silver-Fang. She scooped up her bag in her jaws and slung it over her shoulder. Panting hard, she charged forward, blindly through the trees, steam coursing from her nose and mouth in the harsh weather. Ice clung to the pads of her paws and she whined from the stinging pain. But she dared not stop, lest her scent somehow escape and make its way to her father who would surely pick it up and follow her tirelessly. She kept going, driven on by some unseen, undetected force pulling her through the forested wilderness.

A sudden snarl erupted from the trees around her and she stopped abruptly, thinking for an instant that Sesshomaru was nearby. But instead, a large pack of wolves appeared from the trees, baring their teeth and snarling at her. Though she was three times their size, she could see that they were confident in their skills and were unafraid to attack her, despite the obvious circumstances. She turned her head this way and that, knowing that this was only one of her many battles to come, where she was determined to emerge victorious. She and the alpha wolf stared at one another for many minutes. She found that if she made eye contact, she could read what they were thinking.

_Kill. Hunger. Kill. Stand against. Kill._

The wolves were so hungry, that their thoughts were suffering. Killing her and devouring her were all they were able to think about. But Miharu had no time to negotiate with them; she had to get away. But she didn't want to kill them either. She knew that they were only doing what they had to. But she wasn't about to let herself be slaughtered by wolves. She met the eyes of the alpha again and tried to communicate with him.

_I have food, in my pack on my shoulder. You can have it. I will give it to you, but leave me be._

Instead, she got this from him.

_Kill. Human food…not interesting. Fresh food. Kill. KILL!_

She sighed. They were too far-gone.

Suddenly, the alpha let out a blood-curdling howl and the others wolves charged at her. She snarled furiously and lashed out at them. Her jaws sank into the body of one wolf and she sent it flying. Another one fixed his jaws on her ear and she swung her head wildly and he crashed into a tree and didn't move. Three wolves attacked her flank at once and she whirled and slashed at them with her fangs, slicing through one and injuring the other two. Finally, the alpha male lunged toward her and sank his teeth into the back of her neck. She roared, stretched her neck behind her and locked her jaws on his body, pulling him off and letting him hang from her mouth, whining and yelping. She let him drop to the ground and he ran off, his tail between his legs. The other wolves that had survived her defenses followed suit and they were soon lost to sight in the trees and the swirling snow. She watched them go and turned coldly away. She looked down at the bodies of the wolves she had slain. She didn't want to kill them. But she had had no other choice. They had wanted to kill her. With a whine, she wearily continued onward, leaving the bodies of the wolves to the elements. She hadn't been injured gravelly during the battle, but she knew that other wolves would detect the smell of blood and—

She froze. _No,_ she thought desperately._ Father! Mother! What have I done? They will detect the smell of the wolves' blood on the air and they will also detect the scent of my blood, which cannot be disguised! _

Howling with fury and fear, she leapt forward, through the snow, no more aware of her surroundings than a moth is of an impending spider's web as she charged blindly, anxious to get away as far as she could before she was found. She wouldn't go back. She had to protect her family. She wouldn't let them get involved with the enigmatic Time Travelers.

Finally, just as she was about to collapse, she spied something up ahead. She approached with caution. It was an old bear set in the ground. She sniffed the area thoroughly. The smell of bear was faint, but not strong. Obviously, the bear had abandoned the set in favor of another one elsewhere. It was small, but she could make it. She lifted her bag from her shoulder and tossed it in before her. Then, getting down on her belly, she carefully eased herself in, headfirst until she could dig and claw her way through the earth. Once she was inside, she knew she had to transform back. Within minutes, Miharu lay inside the set in human form, exhausted and unable to move another step. Her silver hair was matted with the blood from the bite of the wolves and she could smell their blood very potently. It was enough to make her nauseous. She wanted so badly to sleep, but she dared not. She had to guard herself. But she had to regain her strength too.

Groaning as she eased herself up, she crawled to the entrance of the set and looked out at the forest and snow. The forest's horizon was dark and foreboding and it seemed as though some horrific creature would be seen hunching over and scampering toward her, pointed teeth glistening as it anticipated its next demonic victim. But she was being silly. Nothing was going to come. She reached out and began to shovel snow into the entrance, blocking it up and sealing it away from the world until she couldn't reach for any more and the snow still falling finished the job for her. The cave was now completely dark. But it wasn't as cold. She inched back to her corner and curled up, trying to use the folds of the kimono as a blanket. She shivered and opened her eyes a crack. She'd anticipated so much more when she ran away, besides that fact that she was more or less heading for her own demise, that she'd get some sort of adventure out of living in the wild. She sniffed and started to believe that even demons could be wrong.

Morning came and Miharu felt no more rested than she had the night before. She sat up and sneezed. A thin layer of snow and frost had found its way in and she was shivering badly. She promised herself she'd transform again once she got outside. Ignoring her stomach, she crawled to the entrance and clawed through the snow until she reached the outside world. Once outside, she promptly transformed again and once more stood as the proud Silver fang. Taking up her bag, she hurried forward, further up the mountain. The trail was getting steeper and steeper and she knew that she'd have to find something to eat soon, besides what she had in her bag. She slowed to a walk to conserve energy.

Suddenly, she sniffed at the air. Something was on the air and it smelled interesting. Her eyes narrowed and she turned in the direction of the smell. She followed it to a small clearing where she found a depressing sight.

It was a man, lying in the snow. He seemed about middle-aged and his pack was strewn everywhere, torn and shredded. He seemed to be very much the same. She snarled as she detected the scent of wolves and pawed the ground. His bag and whatever was still in it smelled good but she didn't feel right taking it from a dead human. She whined and left the man alone. But as she sniffed again, she realized that she could smell life within him. He was still alive. The wolves hadn't eaten him, he'd pretended to be dead on the chance they'd leave him be. She approached cautiously and put her nose to his face. She snuffed and he yelled and batted at her. She backed up as he got to his knees. He shook his head and mumbled something. " Damn those wolves. It'll take me weeks to…." He trailed off as he saw Miharu standing in the snow. His face registered panic and in a split second, he was at the other end of the clearing, backed against a tree.

" A d-d-demon!" he stuttered. Miharu cocked her head and came closer. He yelled and attempted to climb the tree. " S-Stay back, d-d-demon!" he called. Miharu lowered her head, turned around and continued on, into the forest, leaving the bewildered man to stare after her in awe.

" How fine that demon is." He muttered to himself. " I'll bet that if I took that fur coat off it, it would fetch me hefty price."

He headed toward his bag and started to fish around for his knife.

Miharu flopped down in the snow, exhausted and unsure of how far she had traveled in such a short amount of time. She knew only that she was going to die alone and hungry in this godforsaken place. Her breath came in short ragged gasps and she closed her weary eyes, dreaming of her mother and father and her friends, knowing that she'd never see them again.

All of a sudden, she felt the earth move as someone approached and she looked up. She was surprised. It was the man she'd come across and he was staring at her with a knife in his hand. She knew he wanted her fur and fangs. She acted bored and pretended to be stronger than she was as she stood up to her full height. He cringed a bit, but brandished the knife anyway. " Hey, demon." He said. " I can see that you're weak from hunger. Maybe I'll give you something to eat if you agree to give up your fur."

Miharu bared her teeth and snarled at him. He didn't back off. She lowered herself threateningly and her hackles rose. She barked twice at him. He swung the knife up. " It won't hurt for long." He said. She lunged up and sank her teeth into his arm. He cried out and tried to shake her off. But she, unlike him was eleven feet tall and much stronger, despite her gnawing hunger and fatigue. She shook him wildly and then let him fly across the forest floor into a tree. While he was preoccupied, she took this chance to flee and bounded up over the landscape, out of his sight. She summoned as much energy as she could from some unknown source within her and tried to think of other things to avoid the pain coursing through her body where the bite marks still festered and the sting of her paws where the ice clung. Eventually, she was even more lost than she had been before. This was pointless. She was a demon; she shouldn't be panicking. But she couldn't help it. She sighed and sat down in the snow. _Please,_ she thought. _Help me, anyone._

With that, she fell over and drifted into a deep sleep.

A/N: Sheesh, sorry I haven't updated again. I was busy today. I had to get my newest paint-by-number out of the way so I can get ready to start the one I'm painting for my sister Tiffany's new baby. It'll go in its room. I am so excited, it's either going to be Brody or Logan or Avery. They don't know the gender yet. Sorry, I'm rambling. But I've been too preoccupied with the painting to update. But here it is!


	5. The Search for Miharu

The Search For Miharu

" She's gone?" InuYasha exclaimed when he heard the news from his brother. Sesshomaru nodded solemnly. " She left a note saying she was going to look for the Time Travelers. I suspect she's headed north, toward the mountains." He said. InuYasha squeezed his eyes shut and balled his fist. " This is really putting an edge on my nerves."

" What are we going to do?" Kagome asked.

" What else?" Sesshomaru said. " We're going after her."

" How? We don't know which way she went." Kagome pointed out.

" You might not, but I do." He said. " You forget, girl, I'm a demon. I can pick up her scent. Right now, I smell something rather disturbing."

" What?" InuYasha ventured. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes to slits.

" Blood." He said. " It smells like hers. But it also resembles the scent of wolves. She may have been in a fight."

" Then we had better hurry." Kagome said. The door to Kaede's hut opened and the priestess, Miroku, Sango and their young son, Botan stepped out. Botan was a child prodigy who learned to master a hook-chain technique at an early age of two. He took after his uncle who had vanished after leaving for the continent many months before.

" Ye haven't much time. I suspect that the Time Travelers will be looking for Miharu as well as ye are. And what with all they know about us and our technology in comparison, we might not stand much of a chance at finding her first should we dilly-dally." Kaede said, coming up behind them. She had on a tan-colored shawl and her bow and arrows in hand. Kagome nodded. " That's right, she could already be captured for all we know."

" Then let's hurry." InuYasha said. " Hey, Sesshomaru, since you can fly, why don't you follow by air? You'll see more that way." He suggested. Kagome expected some sort of wisecrack on Sesshomaru's part, but instead, he nodded and wandered off. She presumed he was going to get Saeka. Meanwhile, Sango had Kirara ready and she, Miroku and Botan were already seated atop the great cat.

" Let's go! Kaede, jump on!" she called.

" I'll get on, but I sure can't jump." Kaede muttered. She climbed on behind Miroku and slung her bow over her shoulder. Kagome got on InuYasha's back and he took off into the woods. Seconds later, Sesshomaru appeared with Saeka alongside him he followed everyone to the forest. He couldn't help but worry. He remembered Rin, who had been something like his own child, which had been unexpected and he'd failed her when the Time Travelers got away. He now swore that he wouldn't fail Miharu, even if it cost him his life. And knowing the Time Travelers, it probably would.

Miharu trudged through the thick undergrowth, searching desperately for whatever it was she was searching for. It took too much energy sustaining her true form, so she'd regressed back to normal. But the cold was bad and the snow, deep. There was no way she was going to make it. But she was the weapon of the Time Travelers. She had to get to them before they got to Sesshomaru, Saeka, InuYasha and the others. They wouldn't hesitate to kill them, or extract power to create new _kikuurama_. She still wondered what that meant anyway. She supposed that she'd find out soon.

Sesshomaru scanned the forest and Saeka sent out mental calls for her daughter. She didn't know whether Miharu would actually hear them or not, but she figured it was worth a shot. At one point, Sesshomaru spotted something and they all landed deep within the forest. But what he thought to be Miharu's true form turned out to be a simple white wolf, which took off running in an instant. When they took to the skies again, he felt grimness and worry rising up within him. He just had to find her. He couldn't fail his true daughter. He'd failed his adoptive one. He wouldn't fail Miharu.

Tama and Khiinli crouched just inside the door, a plan formulated and running as soon as the guard with the nightly meal came in. When the door opened and the guard stepped inside, Khiinli and Tama quickly slipped out the door and slammed it shut, locking it with the laser bolts and making a run for it while the guard yelled in fury and sounded the alarm from a special button on his wrist band.

" Which way?" Tama yelled.

" Right!" Khiinli replied. They swerved at the corner and stumbled on, both desperate to get to the next hallway, where Khiinli told him there would be places to hide effectively. He sure hoped she was right.

Miharu heaved herself over a snowy rise and gasped from fatigue. She couldn't go on. She was hungry, cold and weak. Also, she was sorely regretting her decision. Her parents were sure to have read the note by now and come looking for her. Sesshomaru would pick up her scent and she'd be done for. Only the thought of saving her newfound family drove her on.

Suddenly, as she was emerging from a patch of trees, something dark moved just out of her vision and she whirled around. Her heart began to beat unpleasantly and she backed up a ways.

_Crunch!_

Footsteps, like those of an animal. She could hear them behind her and unsheathed her claws. " Who's there?" she called out, summoning the last of her strength. A tall, dark figure emerged from the trees before her, staring at her intently.

" Sesshomaru?" she said, hiding her father from whoever it might be. The less people knew, the better, Sesshomaru sometimes said.

" _Kikuurama_." The figure hissed. Miharu's eyes widened and she gasped. The figure charged forward and she threw her hands over her face.

" NOOOOO!"

Sesshomaru felt a horrible sensation pierce his heart and he cried out.

" NO!" he yelled. " Miharu!"

Without warning, he suddenly leapt off the cloud and glided down into the forest. Saeka quickly summoned her wings and hurried after him while the others followed her.

When they'd all touched down, Sesshomaru was nowhere in sight. But it was obvious where he'd landed; he'd snapped a full branch on landing and then taken off from there.

" Sesshomaru?" Saeka called. She hurried forward, into the woods. She continued to glance all around her. " Sesshomaru!" she repeated.

" Saeka!" his voice responded from several yards to her right. She followed his voice and found him bent over by an old bear set. He straightened up and met her gaze. " Miharu was here." He said. " Her footprints are in the snow. I also smell blood."

" Not hers, I hope." She said as the others finally caught up. He shook his head. " No. Wolves. But there is a little of hers mixed in. As I first thought, she must have been in a fight. We have to hurry, she can't have gotten far."

With that, he charged off deeper into the forest, Saeka right behind him. InuYasha and Kagome did their best to keep up in the deep snow.

Finally, Sesshomaru paused in a clearing where a man was sitting next to a fire and counting some hairs sitting on a cloth on his lap. Saeka gasped. The hairs were a beautiful silver color, exactly like Miharu's. The man looked up and yelped. " M-More demons?" he yelled. " What is it, Scare Akio Day?"

Sesshomaru approached and snatched the man up by the collar. His eyes narrowed dangerously. " Those hairs you are inspecting. Where exactly did you get them?"

" I yanked them off a demon I met awhile ago, a large silver wolf, thing. Looked a lot like a dog." He said. Sesshomaru growled and poised his claws at the man's throat. " Did you kill this demon?" he hissed. The man gulped and a cold sweat broke out on his brow. " N-No! It got away!" he stammered. Sesshomaru dropped him and he hurriedly backed himself out of the way. Sesshomaru turned to Saeka. " She's still alive for the time being. We still have a chance." He said. With that, he hurried off. Saeka bowed to the man and scurried after him. The man blinked. " I think I'll open up a shop and give up my life of hunting." He murmured.

A/N: I added a dry humor there at the end with the hunter. Seeing Sesshy scare the heck out of everyone without really meaning to just strikes me as hilarious and I can never resist it when the opportunity knocks. Let me know how yall like it!


	6. The River

The River

The doors to the palace flew open and several guards rushed in, and knelt before Drasmond. " Your highness, we have found the weapon! Our elite member, Rubon is bringing her!" one of them yelled triumphantly. Drasmond grinned. "Ah, good. See that she is brought before me at once." He declared.

" Yes, King Drasmond." They all chorused before leaving the room. Minutes later, the door opened again and Miharu was flung into the room. She raised herself up on her elbow, glaring at him. He leered down at her. " Ah, our only survivor. Welcome back, Silver." He said cheerfully. Miharu jumped to her feet, her claws bared. " My name isn't Silver! It's Miharu!" she snapped. Drasmond faked shock. " I'm so sorry." He said. " Did I offend you in any way? I didn't mean to."

He got up and clasped his hands behind his back. " But it doesn't matter. You, the only surviving _kikuurama _have finally returned. We can now begin our conquest. Right, after we extract your DNA for creation of others like you."

" You'll do no such thing. I'll kill you if you lay a finger on me." She snarled, swiping her claws at him. He smiled and shook his head. " I'm afraid that those nasty claws of yours will have to be clipped. I can't have you gouging the guards when they come to take blood samples later on. You'll confuse your own blood with theirs."

Miharu's eyes narrowed and she grumbled low. " I won't let you take anything. I came simply to become this weapon. Not to become a test subject once more."

" Miharu, you and one other are the only two who have even close to surviving our experimentations. The other subject had a strong spirit and survived, but she lost her memory and all but her life. She is now simply an empty shell who obeys orders to the letter." He said carelessly.

He snapped his fingers and two to three guards appeared in the doorway. Drasmond returned his gaze to Miharu. " Now, all that we are going to be doing is extracting blood and memory so that emotional ties won't hold you back when we sic you upon your own world as a test trial." He said. Miharu's eyes went wide and she backed up. " No. You won't force me to…"

" To what? Kill your loved ones? But of course! You have to kill them or your spirit will return and seek revenge on us. One as powerful as you can easily outwit that miserable demon you call your father. Sess-something or other, I believe it was?"

" His name is Sesshomaru! You can't make me destroy my own father!" she cried bitterly. Drasmond chuckled. " Ah, that is where you are wrong, my dear girl. We can." He said fiendishly. " You are the most powerful being in creation. You just haven't unlocked your true potential as a legendary _kikuurama_, yet."

" Would someone kindly tell me what a _kikuurama_ is?" she demanded.

" You'll find out soon enough. Now, guards, take her to the Extraction Chamber." He said.

Miharu was about to protest when she felt something sharp sting her neck and her vision became blurry. She sank to her knees and her world went black as she hit the ground, Drasmond's evil face grinning at her as the darkness took hold.

Saeka was the first to spot it: a large, frozen river running through the mountains with forest and snow-covered growth on either side. The ice over the water was thin and they could barely see the frozen mass running swiftly beneath. But in areas, they could see plainly that it could be crossed with care. As they all reached the spot, Sesshomaru turned. " I shall cross first. I'll find the best path and you'll follow me." He said. InuYasha and the others would have preferred to fly on Kirara, but the fire cat was suffering badly from the cold and was lying dormant in Botan's arms. Saeka had tried to fly on her snowy wings, but had discovered with dismay that ice crystals formed whenever she reached an altitude of only fifty feet so flying was out of the question.

Sesshomaru put his foot on the ice and gingerly stepped onto the powdery surface. It held. But he had to be sure. He was pretty light anyway. He took another step and this one held as well. He continued treading the ice, all the while keeping ready should it give way. He turned back. " Let's go." He called. InuYasha went next, his hand on the Tetsuaiga's hilt. The ice held for him too. Sesshomaru waited until InuYasha had reached his point on the ice and then Kagome and Sango came next as Sesshomaru continued on. Miroku and Botan and Kaede followed.

InuYasha leapt off the ice and onto the shore and held his hand out for Kagome and Sango. They jumped off the ice easily. Sesshomaru stayed on a section of ice close to the river as he waited for the others. Saeka, who had come after Miroku and Botan, passed them and hurried to the shore. Kaede stayed a few feet behind, while Miroku encouraged his son to keep going. Botan seemed frozen by the sight of the fast-moving water beneath him.

" Come on, Botan." Miroku murmured. " Sesshomaru's already figured out a path, it's perfectly safe." He said. Botan gulped and shook his head. Miroku smiled and straightened up. " Look, I'll prove it to you." He said, his eyes still focused on the little boy. But as he stepped forward, he slipped suddenly. His arms flailed wildly to regain balance and he fell backward onto a thinner part of the ice.

" Dad!" Botan cried as Miroku broke through the ice and fell in. His right hand shot out and clung to the ice while he struggled to break the surface from beneath.

From the shore, Sango was screaming his name over and over again. Kagome tried to run out, but InuYasha held her back. " No! You'll go under!" he cried. He looked toward his brother, but Sesshomaru didn't, or couldn't move. He just stared, an odd look on his face.

Saeka, still on shore suddenly leapt onto the ice and ran to the mid-point between Sesshomaru and the spot where Miroku and Botan were.

" Sesshomaru? Are you crazy, help them!" she cried. He seemed to break loose from his trance, frowned and hurried forward. He kept jumping from ice patch to ice patch so as not to stay in one place for long. He reached the monk and snatched his hand from the ice. He pulled the monk from the water and dragged him to a thicker part of the ice where he released him. Miroku coughed and gasped for air. " Thanks…Sesshomaru." He sputtered. Botan threw his arms around Miroku. " Dad! Don't ever do anything like that again!" he squealed. Miroku laughed and got to his feet shakily. " I'll t-t-try to r-remember that, B-B-Botan." He stuttered. He slowly limped toward shore. Sango embraced him as he touched land and babbled on about how worried she'd been. Saeka sighed in relief and turned to look at Sesshomaru. " Why didn't you help them earlier? He could have died!"

" He seemed to be fine on his own." Sesshomaru said.

" So you decided to let him die?" she exclaimed. He glanced to the side.

" No. I just…"

" Just what? Just couldn't stoop low enough to help a human? Is that it? Don't tell me you're reverting back!"

" Silence, Saeka. No one died." He said.

" That isn't the point. From where I was standing, it looked like you were hoping for him to die. Is it because he used the Wind Tunnel on you and Miharu before? Is that it?"

" No!"

" Sesshomaru, you are reverting back, aren't you? You are starting to hate humans again! I already know you hate Miharu!"

" I don't hate Miharu. If I did, I wouldn't be searching through this hell-forsaken forest for her." He snapped.

" I know you." Saeka whispered. " You hate humans. It's to be expected of a demon. All true demons despise humans. I shouldn't have gotten hopeful that you would be the exception." She said glumly. Sesshomaru wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what to say. " But you aren't a human." Was all he could think of.

" I'm a half-demon." She murmured. " You hate half-demons, too. Miharu is also a little human. You hate us both, because our blood is mixed. Because we aren't true demons!" she yelled.

" I do not hate you!" he fired right back. Saeka shook her head. " Admit it! This is what you wanted! You wanted Miharu gone! You attacked her and experienced what it was like to use your true power once again! You wanted her gone because she's not true blooded!" Saeka was fuming.

Still on the ice, Kaede realized that this is what the two had been arguing about for the past few weeks. They had been fighting over Miharu's true heritage. All of a sudden, she knew what Sesshomaru had been doing when he left like that.

He had been transforming. She wanted to kick herself. Who knows what kind of damage he'd done in the few weeks that have passed?

" Saeka, I don't know what caused this, but it has to cease. You are right, I do not care for humans the way you do. But I do care for you, and Miharu."

Saeka had her eyes closed. " I can sense it." She muttered. His eyes widened. " Sense what?"

Her eyes opened slightly. " I can sense the truth in your heart. You are unsure of us. Of me, and Miharu. You are unsure as to how she could possibly be your daughter when she herself is a half-breed like your brother, InuYasha, and like me. You are unsure as to how you came to be equal with a half-breed in the first place."

Sesshomaru felt as though an arrow had pierced through his heart. That was exactly his deepest, most concealed thoughts. How she possibly could have read him so well, he'd probably never know. He stared at her.

" I said the facts, haven't I?" she said. She sighed heavily and raised a clawed hand, gazing at it. " I recall when I attacked you, back at Naraku's castle." She said distantly. " I was forced to. Kanna and Kagura made me try to kill you. The only reason you weren't absorbed as part of Naraku was because I inadvertently shoved you out of the castle. Then, I didn't know what I was doing. Now, is a different story."

She said the last part so quietly, that he almost didn't hear her. She looked up at him. He was shocked to see that tears were forming in her eyes. " I thought that you could care for Miharu as your daughter."

Suddenly, she lunged at him from across the ice. Sesshomaru, now equally angered, parried her attack with his own claws and leapt out of the way.

" I suppose I was wrong!" she screamed.

Kaede gasped and backed up several feet. InuYasha and the others watched from the bank. InuYasha, stubborn mule though he was, knew his brother far better now than he had six years ago. He knew that once aroused and angered, Sesshomaru was deadly. And now, his target of his wrath was none other than Saeka.

" No." Kagome whispered. " They're both angry at the loss of Miharu and now they're—" she stopped.

" They're what?" InuYasha said anxiously. Though he already knew the answer. Kagome shook her head. " They're taking it out on each other."

And truth be told, since the day that Naraku had had Saeka under the spell of his incarnations, Saeka and Sesshomaru were fighting. Only this time, she knew exactly what she was doing.

Saeka slashed viciously at his throat and he caught her wrist and flung her back across the ice. She didn't fall, but simply skidded to a stop. She jumped up, pulled her arm back and flung it around in an arc, sending several jagged points of light whizzing toward him. He avoided all but one and the one that he couldn't duck from grazed the side of his face. He glowered at Saeka. With blinding speed, he charged at her and caught her by the throat, pushing her down against the ice. She scratched at his hand, all the while gasping for air.

Kagome shook her head. " No." she murmured.

Kaede could do nothing. She had her bow, but her arrows, she'd given to Kagome. She could only stand and pray that this would settle itself.

Saeka struggled for air under Sesshomaru's strong grip around her throat. She glared up at him, her eyes filled with deep hatred and sadness. His were blank and empty like they always were during battle. It was like he became a whole different person when he fought. Like he didn't even recognize his own companion.

Suddenly, a sound like a gunshot split the air and everyone but the two combatants looked up. Kagome gasped and InuYasha growled.

" The ice. It's breaking!" he exclaimed. " Sesshomaru! Saeka! Get off of there!" he yelled. Sesshomaru's eyes moved toward his brother. Saeka was fading quickly and her eyes closed. At that moment, the ice beneath the two demons suddenly cracked and gave way. Sesshomaru released Saeka who promptly slid beneath the ice and vanished in the water. Sesshomaru's hand lashed out at the spot she'd been at just as the piece he was positioned on fell. Unprepared, he fell from the ice and into the frigid water. The large ice chunks that had been the pathway began to flow along with the water, covering any air holes. He and Saeka disappeared in the river.

InuYasha tried to go after them, which surprised everyone, especially Kaede, who had managed to slip over to a thicker region of ice just before it broke, taking Sesshomaru and Saeka with it.

" Sesshomaru! Saeka!" he yelled. Kagome and Miroku held him back.

" No, you'll freeze in there and even if you did make it, they're gone." Miroku said somberly. InuYasha didn't resist and bowed his head. " No." he whispered. He stared at the river where his brother and Saeka had gone.

Suddenly, it seemed even colder now.

A/N: It was so unbelievably hard to write this chapter because it was so sad. Sess and Saeka were literally at each other's throats and I have them drown! How cruel can I possibly get? Don't answer that. And to Silentmoondemon, please leave your big scary sword at home when you write a review to this like you usually do. You're kinda starting to freak me out, but in a good way, 'cause I know it means you like the story. I handle flames well! R&R!!


	7. Separated and Weak

Separated and Weak

InuYasha stared grimly at the spot on the river where his brother had disappeared. Kagome placed a hand on his shoulder. " I'm sure they'll be fine. But we can't stay here. Miharu's still in danger." She said gently. He sighed and looked at her. " You're right. Sesshomaru's stronger than he looks. He's going to make it out of this and so will Saeka. Lets' move on."

Kagome had never heard InuYasha compliment Sesshomaru before. This was an interesting twist.

While they had been talking, Sango had gone and gotten Kaede on Kirara and brought the old woman over to their side of the shore. Kaede sighed. " Aye, these old bones of mine ain't used to this kind of work anymore." She grunted. InuYasha's mouth formed a straight line and he looked toward the sky.

They would make it.

Sesshomaru struggled hard against the fast current. He continued to scrape his claws against the ice above him, fighting for air. He may have been stronger than others when it came to surviving beneath water, but even he needed air. And fast. He pulled himself to a halt, his claws raking the ice. He winced as one of them snapped. He'd worry about that later, it was only one claw; it would grow back within a few weeks, or days. He opened his eyes and squinted from the current. With sudden determination, he slashed at the ice, forming large gashes in it. He continued to hack away at the frozen mass until finally, it thinned and just when he was about to give up and take in water, he broke through the surface and used his nine remaining claws to steady himself against the frigid, fast-moving water. He slowly heaved himself up out of the river and onto the ice flow, which attached to the bank. Once out of the water, he slowly dragged himself wearily over to the snowy bank and fell down. He hated this. He hated admitting exhaustion. But as he lay on the bank, recovering and replenishing his air supply, he realized that at the moment, he didn't really care.

He sat up stiffly. He wondered where InuYasha and his friends might have gone. He also wondered what had happened to Saeka. He didn't want to consider the possibility that he'd strangled her before the ice broke. He wasn't sure what had made him do such a thing. He loved Saeka. He didn't want to kill her. But he had to find the others if he was going to find Miharu. He also had to warm up.

As he stood up, he reflexively put his hand to his swords. Tokijjin was there. That was good. He would have hated to lose it. It was his main weapon. But as he put his hand to Tenseiga, he realized with horror that Tenseiga wasn't there. His head shot down to the sword, Tokijjin. Tenseiga, who usually rested right beneath the demon sword in its sheath, was missing sheath and all. Sesshomaru gasped and whirled to face the river. Tenseiga must have slipped free and drifted away. He shook his head, wondering why he was even caring. Tenseiga had been useless as a sword. It couldn't even cut.

But then, he realized that Tenseiga had given him Saeka twice. The sword had a mind of its own and it could have refused to return Saeka to him. Instantly, he felt guilty that he'd lost his father's sword.

" Tenseiga." He murmured. He shook his head again, this time out of sorrow. He turned and started back toward the forest, his heart having returned to the iciness as cold as the snow around him.

Saeka lay on the riverbank just before some white water that was breaking the ice as though it were lump sugar on the rocks. Her legs and feet were still in the water, as though she'd dragged herself out just enough that she wouldn't be dragged back in. She was unconscious. She was weak and barely breathing. Her neck throbbed from Sesshomaru's claws. As she began to wake up, she knew she should be angry with him for what he almost did. But she remembered that she had attacked him. Instantly, she felt terrible for having done so and she felt herself starting to cry. But she forced it back down and opened her eyes. She froze. Something long and black was lying a few feet away, sticking out from the riverbed, as though it had been swept in there. At first, she thought it was a snake. She sat up and took a closer look. She crept wearily closer and peered at it. It was a sword. Curious, she reached out and tenderly lifted it from the ground, into her lap and studied it. It seemed familiar. Where had she seen it before? She removed it from the sheath and fingered the smooth blade and marveling at the superb craftsmanship.

Suddenly, she knew. She gasped sharply and covered her mouth in horror.

" No." she whispered. " No, please no!"

It was the Tenseiga, Sesshomaru's heirloom from his father and the sword of heaven, which saved her twice. She replaced the sword to its sheath and held it close; trying to convince herself that he hadn't drowned, that he'd survived and was around somewhere, looking for the others. " Tenseiga. You are here, but where is your master?" she whispered. She was surprised to feel a faint pulse within the sword and she gazed at it in wonder.

With tears clouding her vision, she carefully slung the sword over her shoulder, got up and left the river, desperate to find Sesshomaru. She couldn't bear to think that her last actions and words toward the one she loved the most were those of hatred and malice. She sniffed and ascended the rise atop the bank of the river. At the top, she gasped for air and called out his name.

" Sesshomaru! Sesshomaru!"

But only her own voice met her ears. She sighed in deep sadness and continued on, now hollow inside, with only the Tenseiga to guide her. But that was more than enough now, to have a sword from Sesshomaru with her. She would find him and admit her guilt for what she did and hope that he would find it in his heart to forgive her.


	8. The Victims of Malsshinyor

The Victims of Malsshinyor

Khiinli and Tama peeked around the corner and then made a dash for the elevator. Khiinli punched in the code: D-R-A-S-M-O-N-D and then pressed the red flashing button, closing the doors and lifting it up to the thirty-third floor where Drasmond was. They were sub-level five, so it would take awhile.

" So," Tama said. " Khiinli, do you have any idea who that was whose name you screamed when I pinned you?"

" No. I do not." She said. She was still working on adding some emotion to her sentences. They all sounded as though from some sort of android or foreigner.

" If you don't know who it is, why did you scream it?"

" I suppose it was a trigger on some distant memory. I am sure that I do not know who it is." She said.

" Well, in any case, the name sounded familiar. I might have heard it before. Give me some time to think on it." He said. Khiinli stared at the floor. She wanted to remember so badly. She knew now that she was living a lie. She was pretty certain that she had never always been one of the _kikuurama_, but she couldn't be sure. She knew that she had turned out differently than most of the others. She had survived, while all of the others had either been turned inside out, burned to death or worse. She was lucky to have only become distant.

Suddenly, an image flashed into her mind, an image of a tall person with flowing white hair standing facing away from her. He was speaking, though she couldn't hear him well. She heard him say one thing: " –if you so choose."

Khiinli shook her head, but the image had gone. Tama eyed her curiously, but said nothing.

Finally, the elevator stopped and the door opened. Khiinli stepped out and looked in both directions. " Okay, the coast is clear. Let us go, Tama." She said.

" You've really got to learn to speak normally again." He whispered as he followed her out of the elevator. " Where are we going?"

" To the Extraction Room. I can sense another victim being brought in."

" Victim? You mean they found someone?" he said. She nodded. " Yes. They must have found the true _kikuurama_ and have brought her in. She is revered among most of us who survived. She is the only one who survived with no flaw. For those of us like me, who have lost much, she is a hero. She is going to be turned into what the _kikuurama_ is and means."

" What is the…whatever it was you said?"

" _Kikuurama _is the Malsshinyorian word for what they have been working on to be the most powerful being in creation."

" And it means…?" he said as she approached a door and opened it by placing her tiny hand upon its smooth metal surface. It slid open with a soft hiss and she led him inside. He gasped.

All around him were vertical glass tubes filled with a clear liquid. Each one contained a small child or a young teenager. They all were wearing strange facial masks and bubbles kept coming out of them occasionally as they breathed. All of them wore plain white tunics and were curled up in fetal positions, eyes closed.

" K-Khiinli? W-what is t-this place?" he stammered.

" These are the other victims who never woke up. Their bodies are still alive and they are kept in these holding chambers for dissection later on. The analysts here will study the insides of their bodies to determine the effects of the gamma rays."

She began to wander off to the right and Tama trailed after her. " But, Khiinli, this doesn't explain what a _kikuurama _is. What do all of these children have to do with whatever these weirdoes are planning?"

" I was to be a _kikuurama_. But I am flawed. My powers are too great and would threaten to destroy me. The true _kikuurama_ is a being of immense power. This basically will sum up the meaning of the word." She said, turning to look at him.

" What does it mean?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

" _Kikuurama _means Demon of Death."

A/N: Now you know what _Kikuurama_ means. Also, you know about some of the other victims of Malsshinyor. I think this chapter turned out okay. Please R&R! I love getting reviews!


	9. Old Friend Met Again

Old Friend Met Again

InuYasha and the others continued their search through the mountains. InuYasha found he couldn't stop wondering whether his brother and Saeka had made it or not after their icy plunge into the river. He hadn't seen, nor heard them. He could usually sense his brother from miles away. But even if Sesshomaru had survived, his aura would be weaker. He just stared ahead, wondering why he even really cared.

" InuYasha!" Kaede called suddenly. They all stopped and he came over.

" Kaede?" he said. " What is it." She was pointing with her bow at the snow in front of her, off to the far left. He followed with his eyes and frowned.

" What's that?" he asked. He started in that direction, Miroku and Sango following. They went about twenty feet before they finally found what Kaede had spotted. InuYasha knelt down.

" Footprints." He announced. He frowned again. " This is weird."

" What?" Sango said.

" The footprints just end, right there, a few feet ahead. See that clear snow? And see where the footprints are? They just stop."

" So?" Miroku asked. InuYasha straightened. " I think these are Miharu's tracks. She came this way and these are her footprints. But if that's the case, why do they just stop?"

" Hey guys!" Shippo yelled. Everyone jumped. They'd all forgotten he'd been asleep in Kagome's bag until now. InuYasha whirled around. " Don't do that you little brat!"

Shippo ignored him as he lifted something out of the snow. " Look at this InuYasha. It's a necklace of some sort."

InuYasha snatched it from him and inspected it. It was a silver chain with a tiny little circle with numbers all around it. He furrowed his brow and hurried over to Kagome. He showed it to her. " Hey, this look familiar in any way?"

" Yes, actually. It's a clock. A very tiny one too." She said, fingering the little charm. " Did you find it near the tracks?"

" Yeah. Those are Miharu's tracks. I don't know how I know it, but I do." He said grimly. Kagome took the charm and set it in her bag. " Well, let's follow them." She said. InuYasha shook his head. " It won't work. They end abruptly. It's like she was carried off by a bird or something.

" Hey! InuYasha!" Sango cried. He ran back over. She was pointing at something on the ground. " There are more footprints. I can tell, there are all sorts of lines all around here. Someone must have snuck up on Miharu, covering their tracks as they went. Someone took her."

" But if that's true, who and where?" he said, folding his arms. Then it hit him. " No. The Time Travelers." He gasped. He let out a furious cry to the heavens. " The Time Travelers have her already!"

Sesshomaru made his way through the forest and endless reach of trees as far as even he could see. And he could see pretty well.

He felt terrible. That icy plunge into the water didn't do him well. He was cold, near frozen and numb just about everywhere. He had to warm up or he'd freeze to death. He sorely missed Tenseiga and Saeka. He couldn't believe that he'd killed Saeka. He had never regretted anything before, and he was horrified to realize that he regretted what he had done.

Suddenly unable to move, he collapsed into the snow, beside a dead oak. He leaned against the icy bark, barely able to breathe and exhausted. But he kept probing his mind to stay awake. He knew that if he fell asleep here, he could die. He had to stay strong for Miharu and the others. He couldn't succumb to weakness at a time like this. But with Miharu gone, and Saeka dead, he didn't really have much left to live for. All he had ever cared about was gone. He had finally run out of luck.

InuYasha was fuming. He had the little clock device clutched tightly in his palm and was oblivious to everything and body around him. Even when a renegade wolf attacked the group, he slew the thing as absently as possible, like his mind was on auto. Once, Kagome tried to approach him and it was only quick reflexes that saved her a bloody gash across her face.

After awhile, Kaede suggested they stop for the night. Even InuYasha reluctantly agreed. Kagome built a small fire and Shippo and Miroku decided to use Kirara to go back to the river and get some fish. InuYasha looked almost hesitant about letting them go, but he said nothing.

Finally, he got to his feet and grumbled, " I'm going to scout ahead. Don't go anywhere."

He wandered off into the trees and was swallowed by the darkness. Kagome sighed. " Lade Kaede, he really seems upset." She commented. Kaede nodded. " Indeed he is, child. InuYasha has had a lot happen to him in the past years. He's lived a fuller life than I'm sure he'd care for."

" He's acting different. He really seems to want Miharu back. More so than even Sesshomaru and Saeka did."

" You speak of them as though they were dead." Sango said quietly.

" They might very well be. That river was very cold." Shippo said. He and Miroku had returned not too long after they had left, saying the river was swollen and too fast to fish.

Botan was curled up beside his mother and sound asleep, covered by a shawl of Sango's.

" Kagome?" Sango said quietly. " Are you okay?"

" Yeah. Just worried. This is starting to get dangerous. We lost Sesshomaru and Saeka, and Miharu. Now, we're probably losing InuYasha. Seems like this whole thing is falling apart."

She hugged her knees and stared at the snow.

InuYasha stomped through the forest in a blind fury. He had taken many turns from the fire and wasn't too keen on his position, but he was perfectly able to find his way back.

" Damn Time Travelers…I'll tear 'em to shreds…." He mumbled consistently.

He had his eyes focused on the ground. But as he came to a stop in the middle of a pass of pines, he noticed something off to the right. The forest was quite dark, but he could see very well. He squinted to try to make out what it was.

Unable to see clearly, he bounded forward toward the large oak tree where whatever it was lay. He let out a gasp.

" Damn." He said to himself.

Kagome was tired and sore. She kept trying to stop herself from yawning, but it was impossible. She wanted to be there when InuYasha arrived. He should have been back by now. She turned to the trees, wondering what was keeping him.

She yawned again and lay down on the icy forest floor.

" I guess a few z's won't hurt." She murmured drowsily. She closed her eyes.

What seemed like moments later, she was being shaken awake by none other than InuYasha himself.

" Kagome." He said. " Wake up."

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. " What is it? Did you find something?" she muttered.

" You bet I did. But it wasn't what we were originally looking for."

" What?"

" Follow me." He said. She got up, instantly awake as he led her to a little clearing separate from their own. He pushed through some bushes and stood aside for her. She took one look and gasped.

" Sesshomaru!"

" I found him at the base of an old oak tree not far from here. He was fast asleep, which is something I've never known him to do. Even when I brought him here, he didn't wake up."

" Must have been exhausted. I wonder how far he was carried downstream before he broke free."

" We won't know until he tells us. He's near frozen, but I don't think it's a good idea to wake him up. I left him here."

" But like you said, he's near frozen. We should get him to the fire."

" At least he's out of the snow, Kagome." InuYasha snapped. He was back to his old self. Kagome sighed. " You brought him here, out of the woods and yet you still won't help him further when he actually needs it for the moment?"

" Ehyup."

" Sit, boy."

_Thud!_

Sesshomaru opened his eyes. He blinked. He noticed that his surroundings were different from that of where he had chosen to rest. This was odd. He sat up and gazed around curiously. Yes, this was definitely different.

He could hear voices off to the left. He recognized them as InuYasha's and his human friends. He got to his feet slowly, still very cold from his hike up from the river. His hand went to the swords, or sword. He greatly missed Tenseiga.

Kagome was the first to notice his presence. " Oh, Sesshomaru! You're awake." She exclaimed. InuYasha's head snapped up. " Hey Sesshomaru." He muttered tonelessly. Sesshomaru stopped a ways away and sat down not too close to them, but not too far from the warmth of the flame.

" How did I get here?" was his first question. InuYasha made his usual sound of contempt. " I brought you here, stupid. What the hell do you think you were doing wandering around out there? Nearly froze to death." He added lamely. Sesshomaru sighed and shook his head in apathy. " I would have lasted longer than yourself, InuYasha."

To everyone else, this was a pretty weak statement coming from Sesshomaru. Kagome figured he was still thawing out from his river experience. He did seem pretty damp.

Sesshomaru suddenly flicked his head to the right.

" What was that?" InuYasha said.

" Something was in my hair." He said. He turned and looked at the ground where a tiny dark speck was lifting itself up wearily. InuYasha dashed over and snatched the speck up. " Myoga!" he yelled.

" Good morning, master InuYasha." He grumbled. Myoga turned to Sesshomaru. " Sorry about that. I was just hanging on and waiting for you to find them again. Been awhile I see. What are you all doing out here in the middle of nowhere? I thought that Naraku was dead."

" He is. We're looking for something else." InuYasha said. Myoga rubbed his chin. " I see. Well, it's been six years. How about filling me in?"

Kagome held out her hand and Myoga leapt over to rest on it while they started on the story.

" Myoga, awhile back, Sesshomaru went on a rage and nearly destroyed Kaede's village in the process. He claimed to be looking for something." Kagome said.

" And what was he looking for?"

" I'm getting there. Around that time, a girl by the name of Silver showed up at my home and fell down the shrine after revealing some odd powers she possessed. She arrived in time for an attack by Sesshomaru and we managed to halt it before it got worse. Well when she returned, she met up with him and learned he was looking for something. Later, she decided to fight him and was kidnapped."

" And what's all this got to do with what you're looking for?"

" Getting there. Silver returned, but with Sesshomaru and another you might be familiar with. Do you remember Saeka?"

" Of course I do! Her blood is almost as good as InuYasha's! And unlike him, she doesn't mind giving me some now and then." He said, crossing his four arms. Kagome rolled her eyes. " Well, we found out some interesting information. Silver was actually Sesshomaru's daughter."

At this, the flea let out a yelp and fell over backward off her hand. He scurried right back up and stared at her. " _Daughter!?_ No kidding!"

" Right. She was stolen from him and Saeka as a baby and—"

" Wait! Hold it! Saeka?"

Here, Sesshomaru spoke up. " Why is everyone so surprised that I have a daughter?"

" You, er, just didn't seem like the type to settle down a little." Myoga explained. But he waved his hand and said, " Please, continue."

" Anyway, she was taken by these people called the Time Travelers and eventually returned to them. Her name is now Miharu. She has recently realized that she is the only surviving weapon of theirs and has run away to them to keep us out of danger. We're trying to find her."

" And, Sesshomaru." He said, swiveling to face the demon. " If you don't mind me asking, where is Saeka?"

Sesshomaru's eyes suddenly seemed filled with anger and pain and he regarded the flea coldly. " I would suggest you continue your conversation." He stated. Myoga froze and hurriedly faced Kagome again. " Do you know?" he asked. Kagome sighed. " Yes. They got into a fight on the frozen river. His claws were at her throat when it cracked and collapsed, taking them both under. We found him, but we haven't seen her."

Myoga hummed low and turned again. " I am truly sorry, Lord Sesshomaru." He said with a slight bow. He looked up and his eyes widened.  
" Excuse me, Lord Sesshomaru. But where is Tenseiga?" he asked. Everyone's heads all shot up in surprise. Sesshomaru lowered his gaze to his one sword, the Tokijjin still sheathed in his sash. " It was lost in the river." He mumbled.

" Oh." Kagome said. She looked at InuYasha in surprise.

" Well, you must be thrilled." InuYasha said.

" Hn." Sesshomaru replied. He stared at the ground, a curious expression on his face.

" Let me go!" Miharu screamed as she struggled against the steel straps holding her wrists and ankles to the metal table. Another steel strap stretched across her abdomen and she found that she was completely unable to move no matter how hard she tugged.

" Be quiet." Her guard snapped. His name was Tobias. She'd never heard of such a weird name before. His hair was sort of long and wavy blond. He approached the table and stared down at her. " So you are the legendary _kikuurama_, the Demon of Death, are you?" he said unfeelingly. She hissed and tugged at the straps again, her eyes blazing. He chuckled. " It's useless. Those are made of pure titanium. A weakling such as you in this pre-transformed state could never hope to break free. But once we're finished here, however…." He trailed off and turned to the counter where an assortment of odd instruments was kept. Miharu turned her head. " What do you mean, 'pre-transformed'?" she demanded. He turned his head to face her. He was holding a syringe filled with a blackish liquid. " It means that your great potential of world destruction is currently locked away within your being. But regular doses of this special enhancer will change that. As time goes by, the demonic spirit lying dormant within you will break free and take control of your body. Then, we the inhabitants of Malsshinyor will be able to control you and conquer all with your immense power. You will soon be the greatest thing in creation."

" But I don't want to be! I want to go home!"

" You should have thought of that before you made the choice to try to find us. Originally, we had considered you to be too far-gone to be even worth salvaging from that primitive dump you call a planet. Their present-day technology is considered to be Stone Age to us modern folk. The people of your era are just too weak. They need to be dealt with."

He loaded the syringe with another liquid to join the black one. It was golden in color, the color of her father's eyes. The sight of it made her homesick.

" But if this world is a futuristic reality of mine, won't you destroy yourselves by eliminating the people from my era?"

" Silly child, you think we didn't consider that? The people of Malsshinyor are part human and part _Kichiiwa_, or space-farers. Fifty-seven percent of our genetics are descendants of ancient peoples from the vast limits of space who saved a number of us from Primitive Terra. My own ancestor, a man named Calvin Markel, was a slave to a wretched owner to the far north of an ancient land called Canada. He and about two-dozen others were stolen from Primitive Terra and taken to another world. This world, far into the future of Primitive Terra where we were interbred with the people of this place to create far superior beings now known as Malsshinyorians. Our intellect greatly outshines that of your own kind. And, since our ancestors were taken before they could produce any offspring of their own, there are no living relatives to wipe out and we will live on. We have also encoded a special gene in your DNA strands to make it so that once the _kikuurama_ in you has been released, all past memory of your life and gene code will be completely changed and you will no longer be considered as one of them. You will be isolated as a new creature that can pass down your astounding traits to your own children given to you by another future successful _kikuurama_ and we will eventually have many thousands like you to take our places and rule the new universe."

He finished his speech. Miharu was frozen stiff. " So, once my power is unleashed, I'll never be the same again?"

" That's correct." He said, taking her hand and rolling up the sleeve of her kimono. " Oh, and by the way, this will have to go." He said, tugging at the fabric.

" Do you mean I'll forget my parents too?" she whispered.

Here, Tobias seemed to show a little bit of caring for his charge. " Yes. You will forget everything, including your parents."

He injected the syringe into her vein. Miharu winced. Tobias actually narrowed his eyes and loosened the grip on the syringe to keep it from jabbing her too hard. " Sorry." He murmured. He looked up. He gasped slightly when he saw Miharu's face. Her eyes were squeezed shut and tears were slowly sliding down her face as she struggled not to cry. He bit his lip and looked back at her wrist where the syringe was almost empty.

" What about you?" she said suddenly and silently.

" What?"

" What about your parents?" she said, turning her head to look at him. Her face registered terrible grief slowly turning from the black of despair to the cold gray of acceptance. Her silvery hair was falling limply over her face and she was staring at him blankly. Tobias didn't know how to answer that. Like her, he too had been tried for a _kikuurama_ and, also like her, he was only a few years old and yet he had the body of a sixteen year old and the brain of a twenty-eight year-old. He sighed. " My parents were killed." He said, pulling the syringe out.

" What happened? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She added. He stared down at her. She looked so helpless lying on the table and strapped down like she was. He knew from how she had struggled that she was very strong in both body and soul and that this was no situation for her. But there was nothing he could do without putting his life in danger.

" They were murdered." He muttered. " The Supreme Descendants of the _Kichiiwa _ordered that all young children under the age of a few months to be brought to the capitol. I was three months old and my mother and father refused to give me up. They were slaughtered in front of my elder brother. He too was taken and I haven't seen him in a long time."

He turned away. Miharu turned her gaze to the ceiling. " I'm sorry." She mumbled. His eyes shifted toward the sound of her voice, but he said nothing.

He winced as she suddenly screamed in agony from the effects of the dosage.

A/N: I'm probably going to slow down on the updates. I've been so tired at night, the room spins when I close my eyes. I think I need to slow down a bit. Also having the characters from my new manga hanging around, I get stressed with both the manga and my actual novel. To the wonderful reviewers, is it possible to both write novels and write manga books? Can you really pull of both successfully? R&R!!!


	10. Kikuurama

_Kikuurama_

The group packed up and moved out the next morning following the discovery of Sesshomaru. The only one missing from the original party was Saeka. Sesshomaru was very quiet about this. Even when Kaede tried to ask him about whether or not she was still alive and if he could sense her, he refused to answer, so the old priestess gave up trying. Kirara was fond of scouting ahead and coming back with whatever she had found. Twice she had come back with dead mice and other assorted creatures, all of which Sango conspicuously threw away. Botan sometimes went with Kirara.

It was on such an occasion that Kirara returned with something worthwhile.

Kirara suddenly appeared from the trees with Botan and something else slung over her back.

" Kirara, what have you found?" Sango commented. Kirara growled and touched down. Sango took a look at what was on her back in front of Botan and gasped, her mouth covered.

" What is it?" Kagome asked.

" It's Saeka!" Sango exclaimed. Sesshomaru's eyes widened. InuYasha and Kagome hurried forward.

" Oh, the poor thing." Kagome murmured sympathetically, stroking Saeka's icy hair. Sesshomaru hurried over.

Saeka's face was sheet white and streaked with shades of blue where her blood had begun to freeze. Her hands were completely stiff and she was burning cold to the touch. A sword was slung across her shoulders.

" Tenseiga!" InuYasha cried. " Sesshomaru, she's got your sword!"

" Forget the damn sword!" he shouted furiously, shocking them all. InuYasha blinked. " Sesshomaru?"

But his brother wasn't listening. He carefully lifted Saeka off of Kirara's back and onto the snow at her feet. Kirara grumbled worriedly and regressed back to her other form. She stared up at Sesshomaru, blinking innocently, as though she believed that this was her fault.

Sesshomaru gazed down at his companion. He was unable to tell whether she was alive or dead. He placed a hand on her heart. There was a faint, but barely audible beat. He shut his eyes. " Lady Kaede." He called to the priestess. Kaede shuffled over, using her bow as a cane in the deep snow. He turned to face her.

" Will she make it?" he murmured so quietly, she almost didn't catch it. She looked down at Saeka. " I don't know. She can't stay like this. We have to get her warmed up, or I can assure ye, she will die within hours."

InuYasha, who did in fact care about Saeka as a friend hurried off to get wood. Kagome knelt down in the snow and fished some flint from her bag. Miroku gently lifted Saeka off the ground (after getting Sesshomaru's consent) and wrapped her in his cloak. Kirara, Shippo and Botan all used long sticks to clear a little patch of dry ground for everyone and Miroku and Sango both brought Saeka into the cleared spot and set her down. Then, they both stepped back as Sesshomaru took a seat beside her. To everyone's surprise, he removed the furry wrap from his shoulder and placed it beneath her head. He continued to stare down at her, his eyes bereft of all emotion.

InuYasha returned with some firewood and stopped for a moment. He was surprised to see that Sesshomaru had changed his appearance slightly. But he said nothing and dropped the wood down while Kagome struck the flint and sparked a fire within the dry wood. She poked at it with a stick to keep it burning. Kaede sat down on the other side of Saeka and closed her eyes, her hand to the girl's forehead. Her mouth moved wordlessly, but Sesshomaru figured she was chanting a spell for Saeka's health to return.

" I hope she's going to be okay." Kagome whispered to Kaede and Sango a little while later. Saeka hadn't moved an inch and neither had Sesshomaru, except to change positions. He wouldn't leave her side.

" Kagome, to be quite honest, it will be a miracle if she lives." Kaede said quietly. " That spell I used was to drive away demons in case they were tempted to try to feast upon her carcass should she die. It wasn't a healing spell. I do not know any, actually."

" She's a healer." Sango said. " You'd think she would know herself what the cure for both hypothermia and frostbite would be."

Suddenly, Kagome's eyes lit up like a candle. " Cure! Of course!" she jumped up and ran over to Sesshomaru. He was startled, so his eyes had gone red and he snarled at her. She ignored him. She was far too used to this by now. She fell to his level and looked him in the eye. " I think I know how to save her!" she exclaimed. His eyes reverted back to normal in an instant. " How?"

" It depends, do you know where her bag is?"

" It was with yours and the others." He replied. Kagome jumped and up and ran to all of the things they had brought with them. She dug through everything, throwing her own things helter-skelter and carefully removing all the other stuff. Finally, she let out a happy cry and pulled out Saeka's red traveling bag she'd had with her before the ice cracked. She hurried back to Kaede and handed her the bag. " Here! She always has strains and cures for just about everything with her. Will you see if there's one for frostbite?" she begged. Kaede smiled and took it.

" Of course." She said. She began to sift through its contents. Kagome, considerably calmer by now, made her way over to Saeka and sat down. She gazed down at the girl. " I'm sorry this had to happen to you, Sesshomaru." She said to him. He said nothing. Kagome looked up. " I know that you two had been fighting a lot lately. But no one deserves to go through what the two of you have gone through in the past few years."

" I know what you're trying to do, girl, but it isn't doing much good." He mumbled. Kagome sighed and got up.

He had to do this on his own, obviously.

Tobias returned to the lab with another dosage. He saw Miharu strapped to the table as usual only she appeared more pale and thin. The enhancer was draining her of all but her life. He was beginning to hate volunteering to apply the dosages. He'd only done so because the one who turned the survivor into the fabled _kikuurama_ would be considered a world hero. No one else had even considered it, always willing to let the other guy do it. Well, when no 'other guy' showed up, Tobias raised his hand and now, here he was, virtually killing a young girl. They were almost identical in ages. He was five, she was three and yet they both had the bodies of teenagers and the minds of adults, like the experiments had required. Their leader, a woman named Maxine had required special gamma rays be shot into the bodies of every victim. Both Tobias and Miharu had been victims and both had survived. Tobias knew not why he was flawed like so many others, only that he was. But Miharu was supposed to be perfect. And she was. He stared sadly down at her still form lying limp of the cold table. She was so weak now that the straps could safely be undone. He wanted to free her. Before the dosages had weakened her, they had shared pleasant conversations about their lives in different time eras. She told him all about the Feudal Era and he informed her on everything about the era of Malsshinyor. She had really seemed to enjoy talking with him and he had been tempted to inject a different chemical in to dilute the enhancer, but he wanted to continue living, so he forced it back. She told him about her parents. Her father, a powerful dog demon called Sesshomaru and her mother, a gentle healer and half-dragon demon named Saeka. Her tale was fascinating and he realized that at heart, she loved her family enough to run away to her enemies to save them. He smiled at how naive she was.

But inevitably, the enhancer began to transform her system into that of the destruction inside her and she had slipped into a deep faint. Her breathing was shallow and he found that her features were beginning to change. He knew that he would soon have to give her the final chemical to wake her up and gradually erase her memories. She was actually able to wake up on her own, but it required a lot of energy. He sighed and got up to administer another dosage.

As he was injecting the needle into her wrist, she stirred. He paused.

" Miharu?" he whispered. Her golden eyes opened and she blinked slowly and wearily. " Tobias?" she murmured. " I feel terrible."

" It's okay. It's the medicine." He lied. Miharu smiled. " I might be going home. Maybe I'll see dad again. And mom." Her voice was faint. Tobias continued to inject the enhancer. She looked at him. " Will this hurt as much as the last time?" she moaned. He looked up and his eyes met hers. In a fraction of a second, he saw her family mirrored in them and he smiled. " No. It shouldn't. I'm sorry that had to happen." He said quietly. She smiled. " It's fine. I'm part demon. I can handle pain. I miss my family though."

Tobias hated himself for what he was doing. The so-called _kikuurama_ wasn't a weapon, he now knew. She was a person with feelings and love for others. She seemed like the type to love all things, whether they were kind to her or not. He was sure that she hated him. He was virtually killing her. He sighed again and his hand shook on the syringe. She drew air in sharply as it cut her skin. He hastily drew it out before the syringe was empty. " I'm sorry." He said quickly. She took a deep breath. " It's okay."

Tobias saw that the syringe wasn't empty. He would have to inject the needle again and continue to empty it into her system.

He got up—and tossed the half-full needle into the trash bin. He wasn't going to do this anymore. He didn't want to hurt Miharu. He glanced back at her. His eyes widened. " No."

Her eyes were wide open and glazed over with pain. Her breathing was rapid and shallow and she was writhing under the straps like a caged animal, desperate to get out. He rushed over and placed his hand on her forehead. " No, Miharu. Don't let it take you! Resist!" he yelled. She squeezed her eyes shut, gasping. " What's happening to me?" she rasped out. She screamed as a paroxysm of pure pain swept through her body.

" Miharu, you must resist! You are entering the first stages of the transformation! You have to resist it if you ever want to get out of here! Listen to me!" he cried. Miharu clenched her teeth and fists and struggled against the enhancer, beginning to wreck havoc on her system. Tobias kept his hand on her forehead, willing her to be strong. In the past few days since she had become his charge, he'd had a complete change of mind. He wanted to help her and he didn't care whether his life was lost or not.

As he watched, her teeth slowly lengthened into sharp fangs. But at this, he showed surprise and relief. Fangs weren't part of the first stage. Obviously, she had a true form that had fangs. She was using her own power as a block against the enhancer. But she was still far from succeeding.

" It won't stop!" she cried. She yanked hard at the straps binding her to the steel table. Tobias began to panic. She was failing. If she made it to the first stage, she would never be the same again.

" Come on, Miharu. Think of all that you love. Think of all that you have to lose if you do this!"

Miharu opened her eyes a little. They were bright with anguish. She followed his advice. She thought of her father, standing brave and strong against the Professor back in Kaede's village. She thought of her mother, standing up to her father and reminding him that they couldn't defeat each other and that were always equals. She thought of her uncle and his friend Kagome. Her eyes narrowed and she took a breath. " No." she grunted as she pulled at the straps. Tobias backed up, his eyes wide with fear. " NO!" Miharu screamed. As Tobias looked on, the straps binding her to the table began to groan and give way and a bright blue light suddenly illuminated from the center of her forehead. Her eyes opened completely, the pupils dilated, as she shrieked, "NO" a final time.

From out of nowhere, a tremendous explosion ripped through the lab, sending both Tobias and all of the different chemicals flying. Tobias shielded his face as he listened to the continued blasts of energy coming from all sides. He could hear Miharu screaming.

Finally, the smoke dissipated and he dared to look out. He let out a shaky cry. Miharu was slumped over atop the ruins of the steel table. She moaned and slowly sat up as he crawled over. He put his hand on her shoulder. " Miharu? Are you okay?" he asked. Her head was bowed and her hair covered her face. He brushed it aside.

As her eyes opened, he let out a low cry. The iris was beginning to darken. She was clutching her head and shaking badly. " Tobias?" she muttered. " What's happening to me? I hurt everywhere."

" Miharu, please, you still have a chance. Hurry and force it back before the _Kichiiwa _lords come. Please!" he begged. Miharu shut her eyes and tried to concentrate, but she exhaled sharply and shook her head. " It was useless." She murmured.

Tobias shook his head and pulled her into a tight embrace. " No. You are the only survivor. You can't become what they want you to be. You just can't." he kept saying.

A cold chill went up his spine as a soft hiss met his ears and the door opened.

A/N: Here's the next to, I think the last chapter. I don't know. I don't have many chapters in these stories, though I wish I did. Sorry, I'm not feeling well again. I'll update soon. Enjoy!


	11. Fallen Trust and Misguided Soul

Fallen Trust, and Misguided Soul

Saeka moved for the first time in three days. Sesshomaru was the first to notice. He hadn't budged from his spot beside his companion for the entire time they'd had her since Kirara brought her in on her back. When Saeka's eyes opened and looked at him, they were at once filled with fear and panic. She had tried to run, but he had held her back.

" No! Leave me alone!" Saeka cried.

" Saeka, be still! You're fine, now." Sesshomaru said to her. She had managed to get about five feet away, but she appeared skeptical. She now looked at him as she had the day they had first met. She appeared fearful of him.

" I don't know who you are." She said stubbornly. She got to her feet, wobbled and fell down again.

While all of this was happening, only InuYasha was awake and he could see the vague and quite subtle hurt in his brother's eyes. Saeka meanwhile had finally managed to get to her feet and slowly hobble several feet away, still glowering at Sesshomaru.

Kaede was awake too, however and she was watching with grim composure. She shook her head in empathy.

_It's just as I thought. Miharu has indeed caused her parents to split up like this, but definitely not intentionally. And now that our only reliable pair is unable to trust one another, we may have a more difficult time than previously planned. _

Khiinli stepped up to the lab computer and proceeded to type in all sorts of streams of endless jumble that made no sense to Tama, but clearly plenty to her. He watched as her eyes danced across the screen, following the steady stream of symbols. Finally, she pressed one large key that spelled, _Eientre_, which he figured probably meant 'Enter' and watched as a screen popped up showing a large room with five to six figures standing within, all observing two others in the darkened background. Khiinli let out a sharp gasp and stumbled back. " No!" she breathed.

Tama rushed to her side just one of the figures turned, let out a yell and with a single swipe, destroyed the camera in that room, causing the screen to go all snowy.

As he helped Khiinli up, a sudden sound like a foghorn suddenly met their ears and Khiinli grabbed his arm and ran with him to the other end of the room.

" Khiinli! What's happening?" he yelled.

" It is the alarm! We have been found!" she cried. She reached the opposite wall and with incredible strength, slammed her fist into the wall, forcing open what was obviously a hollow panel. But this, whatever it was had buttons in it for pressing, as Tama was about to find out as she shoved him inside.

" What are we doing?" he cried.

" We are using the Time Transporter to take us back to the Feudal Era. The _kikuurama _has transformed early! We have to get out of here while we still possess our lives and warn everyone in your era! She will arrive just as soon as she is trained! There is not a moment to lose!"

Tama just watched as the doors shut behind them and she scrunched herself up against him.

" Shut your eyes." She murmured. He did so, just as the room began to whirl around uncontrollably.

The soldiers marched proudly in with a figure draped in a red cloak in between them and Tobias chained and being dragged along behind them into the throne room of King Drasmond. They bowed.

" Your highness, we have captured the scientist responsible for attempting to halt the transformation of the _kikuurama_." They declared. Tobias struggled in his chains as Drasmond stood up. " Traitor. We will have you personally dealt with by our friend. Is the _kikuurama _here?" he said. The soldiers moved aside so that the cloaked figure could move forward. It paused beside the throne of Drasmond and the king smiled wickedly. " Excellent. Now my friend, are you prepared to give your life to the kingdom?"

The head nodded. Tobias, still on the floor closed his eyes sadly. Drasmond cackled evilly, stretched his hand over the cloak and whipped it off.

" Now, we, the citizens of Malsshinyor shall reign supreme!" he yelled to the heavens.

Beside him, Miharu, eyes black all around except for a little red point in the middle grinned a demonic grin.

Her eyes narrowed on the form of her ex-friend lying on the floor some yards away while Drasmond laughed his triumph to the heavens.

The _kikuurama_ had risen.

A/N: Now how was that for a cliffhanger? Miharu has become the _kikuurama_, she is about to eliminate her friend Tobias and her family is split apart. Aside from that, Khiinli and Tama are on their way back to the present time to consult Miharu's parents. Perhaps there is a way to change all of this and it might involve stopping her creation altogether. Uh-oh, what could that possibly mean???

Prepare for the chapter of the _kikuurama_ called,

The Paths We Choose


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